Until real changes are made, reform is unlikely

December 5, 2012

West Virginia doesn't have nearly enough doctors in certain specialties, including dermatology, according to health care analysts.

Fine. We'll train more. West Virginia University has a program to prepare dermatologists.

Maybe not, cautions the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The council is just one of the many professional organizations to which institutions such as WVU must kow-tow if they want to continue operating recognized medical schools.

Only one student a year can be accepted by the WVU dermatology residency program, the ACGME has decreed.

That's absurd, and the reason for the limit is clear: Restrictions such as the council's hold down the number of doctors practicing in certain specialties, allowing them to charge more money for their services. Meanwhile, West Virginians who have skin diseases suffer.

As long as artificially created shortages exist, health care reform will remain impossible.